Episode No. 6 recap: "The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K."

Episode No. 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.” opens with Team U.K. welterweight Dean Amasinger still reeling from his loss to DaMarques Johnson and the absence of his coach, Michael Bisping.

While Team U.S.’s Jason Pierce and Cameron Dollar try to discover what happened, Amasinger admits he has no clue.

As the three relive the closing moments of the bout, Pierce’s continued hatred for Dollar becomes evident.

Dollar compliments Amasinger on his effort, but tries to explain to the Brit the error of his ways. Pierce immediately points out to Team U.S.’s Mark Miller the irony in the lesson considering Dollar just learned to escape from a triangle choke himself. Dollar walks in the tail end of the tirade, and Team U.S. is once again at odds.

Dollar admits he’s tired of the tension in the house and shares a premonition that he may be picked next.

With Team U.K. in control of the matchup, Dollar’s on the money (sorry, it had to be done).

Team U.K. is very complimentary of Stapleton’s abilities, and the entire team seems very confident in his chances. Meanwhile, Dollar’s timid body language have his team worried, and the lightweight admits he’s nervous.

Back at the training facility, Bisping knows he owes Amasinger an apology. Bisping explains to us that he simply overslept the bout while trying to adjust to the local time zone and getting over his jet lag after traveling from the U.K.

Amasinger says little, and the issue appears to be resolved.

The praise for Stapleton continues through the fight preparation, and Bisping explains the strategy will be for the Brit to avoid takedowns while implementing his own striking techniques. The idea seems to work in training, and Bisping predicts a second-round TKO for his fighter.

Back at the house, Stapleton looks very relaxed on the night before the bout. Dollar looks downright scared, while admitting to the anxiety in the house.

During preparation for his contest, Dollar confesses his love for the grappling game. Team U.S. coach Dan Henderson says Dollar must look to improve his striking while developing his ground game. Assistant coach Cyrille Diabate looks frustrated as he tries to stress proper balance to Dollar in training.

Henderson says Dollar’s gameplan will be to strike with Stapleton while pushing him against the fence. Once there, Henderson wants Dollar to move the fight to the the floor and finish the fight. Sticking to the gameplan hasn’t been Team U.S.’s strongest aspect, but time will tell.

Dollar’s tension continues to build.

“As much as I love fighting, I hate fighting,” Dollar says. “Every time I fight it scares the hell out of me.

“Honestly, no words could describe the feeling that I feel before my fights.”

It’s the eight-year-veteran of the British Marines against the kid who admits his thoughts before each fight are, “Oh, [expletive].”

Cameron Dollar vs. Martin Stapleton

Referee Steve Mazzagatti starts the fight, and the two take a fighting stance without touching gloves. Stapleton lands with an early jab, and Dollar nearly has his low kick response caught. Stapleton charges in with a flurry, and Dollar appears to catch him with a right hand to the back of the head.

Stapleton drops, but returns to his feet in order to earn a takedown. Dollar pops right back up and lands a nice toss, moving directly to side control. Stapleton rolls to escape, and Dollar ends up taking his back.

Stapleton tries to stand from a turtled position, but Dollar has both hooks in and pulls backward. Dollar sinks in his right hand briefly for a choke, but Stapleton breaks the hold. Dollar remains calm as Stapleton tried to roll free, and a body triangle holds him firm on the back.

Dollar drops his left hand under Stapleton’s chin. The Brit tries to again break the hold, but is eventually forced to tap at 1:34 of the opening round.

UFC President Dana White admits he’s impressed with the performance. Henderson is also elated.

“The look of shock on Bisping’s face was as nice as I expected it to be,” Henderson says.

Stapleton is devastated, and Bisping does his best to console the losing fighter. Dollar admits his discussions of fear heading into the bout weren’t just lip service, and he calls the win the biggest of his career.

The next fight is Team U.S.’s decision. Henderson selects welterweights Frank Lester and Team U.K.’s James Wilks.

Wilks’ jiu-jitsu skills are well-known by both camps, but the Brit feels his stand-up is his secret weapon. Wilks anticipates Lester will throw wild, looping blows, while he answers with shots up the middle.

Meanwhile, Lester’s disdain for Wilks as a Brit living in the U.S. becames apparent with his repeated claims that he’s going to “break his face.” Team U.S. lightweight Santino Defranco explains it perfectly.

“Frank is crazy,” Defranco says. “But good crazy. Out of his mind, but awesome at the same time. I don’t know what it is about James that rubs Frank the wrong way, but he does not care for him much at all. And he really wants to cause him physical harm.”

Henderson says Lester’s strategy will simply be to stick and move, while focusing on speed rather than power. Restricting the power might be a challenge since Lester wants to “take his head off.”

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) blogger Johnson offers $100 for each of Wilks’ teeth that are knocked out in the fight, a move that might be a bit of foreshadowing considering it’s the title of the episode.

Frank Lester vs. James Wilks

Mazzagatti asks the fighters to bring it on, and a touch of gloves precedes the action. Wilks takes the center, and Lester circles to his right.

Wilks utilizes his reach advantage to earn a few early jabs whiles Lester charges in with overhand shots and wild blows. The pace is moderate to open, but both fighters fins their marks. A left hand from Lester wobbles Wilks, and a 1-2 drops him to the floor. Wilks recovers quickly and grabs a leg while Lester delivers a few downward punches.

The move buys Wilks the space he need to reverse the position and end up in side control. Wilks looks to secure a keylock from the position, but Lester powers out. A scramble ensues while Wilks looks for a leg and then a guilltoine choke. Both miss, and Lester works back to his feet.

The two resume throwing heavy shots on the feet. Both are winded, but Lester’s hands look heavy, as do Wilks’ knees. A stiff knee pushes Lester’s mouthpiece out as the final minute winds down. Wilks then uses a belly-to-belly suplex to bring the fight to the floor and rides out the round.

Lester’s face is bleeding, and he admits quickly that his mouthpiece wasn’t all that was knocked loose.

“My teeth got knocked out,” Lester says.

As the second round is set to begin, Lester’s corner has some trouble. As Bisping protests vigorously, Team U.S. is forced to dislodge Lester’s teeth from his mouthguard so that he can again fit it in his mouth.

After a few tense moments, the tooth is extracted, and the fight resumes.

Both fighters score with single blows from their hands, and Wilks mixes a few kicks into the equation. Both look tired, but they each press forward. Wilks moves into the clinch and lands several punches in a flurry, but the action then stalls.

After a brief trip to the mat, Wilks again scores with his hands. Lester drops to the floor from the clinch, and Wilks moves quickly from side control to mount. Lester tries to roll out, but Wilks locks in the arm bar. There’s a brief struggle, but Lester taps with 1:54 remaining in the second round.

Lester is dejected, but the fight may very well earn Lester another shot in the UFC. White explains four of Lester’s fake teeth were jarred loose in the bout.

Team U.K. maintains a 3-2 lead at the close of the episode, and Lester coughs up a tooth as the credits begin to roll.

Next week promises to bring an outbreak of disease and stupidity, as Team U.S. argues about Herpes while a Team U.K. fighter hits himself with a hammer.

Catch new episodes of “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K.” every Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike TV. MMAjunkie.com will recap each episode of the reality series, and full series coverage can be found on “The Ultimate Fighter 9” page.

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